American tourists remain trapped in Mexico towns like Puerto Vallarta as violent drug gangs have been at war since Mexican authorities killed a notorious drug kingpin Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) launched coordinated attacks (AP photo above) on security forces, government infrastructure, and public spaces in response to El Mencho’s killing by Mexican military forces.
Violence included road blockades, arson of vehicles and businesses, attacks on National Guard members, and disruptions across 20 states, killing at least 25 security personnel.
The unprecedent wave of warfare from gangs is directed primarily against the Mexican government itself.
In response, the U.S. Embassy has issued a shelter in place advisory for Americans who are living or vacationing in Mexico.
Ira Mehlman is media director for The Federation for American Immigration Reform. He says this is precisely the kind of situation that the Department of Homeland Security was created to address.
"To protect the homeland. And right now we are in a position where the Democrats are holding funding for the Department of Homeland Security hostage to their demand for stopping the enforcement of immigration laws in the interior of the country."
Senate Democrats have blocked DHS funding over demands for immigration enforcement reforms following fatal shootings Minneapolis in January. Two U.S. citizens were killed while confronting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the performance of their duty.
Meanwhile, violence in Mexico continues and could spread to America.
Analysts warn that with no clear successor -- El Mencho’s son is jailed in the U.S. and other family members are in custody -- the CJNG faces a power vacuum, raising the risk of internal succession wars among top commanders and territorial battles with rival cartels, especially the Sinaloa Cartel.
Mehlman says all of these cartels have operations within the United States.
“That has been the problem all along. Not only are they smuggling drugs into the country, but they're also in control of the distribution. And so, who knows, turf wars could break out here as well. We've seen it in the past. So, this falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, which needs to be fully funded at this point."
